


Rebound

by flyingsexsnakes



Series: Fighting Feelings [3]
Category: OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
Genre: First Kiss, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-01
Updated: 2017-09-01
Packaged: 2018-12-22 13:27:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11968353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flyingsexsnakes/pseuds/flyingsexsnakes
Summary: Raymond splits up from Shannon and Darrell during a mission, after being injured he pays a visit to Radicles’ apartment balcony.





	Rebound

In the Boxmore family common room, Raymond, Shannon, and Darrell waited for their mission to begin. Boxman had called them together to brief them on what they were to steal tonight. The city museum had received a huge Pink Star Diamond for an exhibit. While Boxman personally didn’t care much for jewelry, the pink star diamond was worth a fortune... It could help fund his business if he found the right buyer, which wouldn’t be hard given the diamond’s size. Shannon and Raymond both had a vague interest in seeing the diamond for themselves, Shannon had even begged Boxman to let her have it once they returned home, or at least to cut her a piece from it. Raymond hated to agree with her, but he also wanted a share, though he felt that Boxman wouldn’t dare tarnish the prize by altering it in any way.

 

Raymond looked out the window, night had fallen over the city some time ago. The sky was dark with heavy clouds, it had been raining for hours now and the siblings were getting sick of waiting. Boxman had insisted that they wait until late at night to lower the chances of them running into anyone other than an unfortunate security guard in the museum.

 

“All right, you three go on.” Boxmore piped up, walking to the hallway entrance. “Be back as soon as you can! I know you’ll make me proud.” He smiled gleefully as Shannon and Darrell ran down the hallway, however his smile dropped when Raymond went to follow after his older siblings. “Wait.”

 

Raymond looked down at his father with an emotionless gaze.

 

“Don’t fret about our little talk earlier.” Boxman said, patting Raymond’s arm. “You’re a smart boy, I know you won’t do anything to upset me or ruin our plans again.”

 

“Of course, Coach.” Raymond nodded in response, he didn’t know what else to do. He saw the flash of exasperation in Boxman’s eye at being called coach, but for once, he couldn’t bring himself to correct the term.

 

Boxman watched as Raymond took off after Shannon and Darrell. In truth he was worried about him, he hadn’t spoken at all during the meeting and he didn’t seem his normal haughty self. Boxman took a small notepad from his pocket and made a quick note to keep a watch on Raymond’s behavior... There may be need for re-programming.

\--

 

Outside of Boxmore, Raymond launched Darrell up onto the nearest building, he and Shannon following suit. They had learned in their heists that this was easiest, they remained largely unnoticed and could travel through Lakewood with ease. Shannon noticed Raymond’s lack of personality in the common room and it seemed even more evident now that they were on their own. Raymond had never been shy about teasing them or even flat out bullying them in regards to how much better he was than them. But watching him now, Raymond simply ran in silence, occasionally helping Darrell reach higher roofs or making sure they were heading in the right direction.

 

Finally the museum was in sight, it was less than half a block away now. The siblings stopped on the nearest rooftop and went over their plan once again.

 

“Raymond, Daddy wants you to blast a hole in the east wing of the museum to distract the guards.” Shannon started. “Darrell, he wants me and you to find the pink star diamond and I’m gonna snatch it while you keep watch.” She looked to Raymond. “You stay at the east wing and take out all the security guards who show up.”

 

Raymond didn’t say anything in response, he simply nodded and headed off towards his destination. Darrell looked at him, confused as his brother disappeared into the distance. He opened his mouth to ask Shannon what was going on, but he was cut off when she grabbed him by the arm and leaped off the roof with him. The two waited for the sound of Raymond’s explosion before they began towards the museum. Dashing across the wet street, Shannon and Darrell ran right up the front steps of the building. Darrell busted a small hole in one of the large glass double doors and unlocked the door from inside. With the door open, the two crept inside and watched carefully as they proceeded. With the coast clear, Shannon began to run across the empty lobby, Darrell close on her heels.

 

“Uhh, Shannon.” Darrell whispered.

 

“Shh.”

 

“But I want to ask you something!” He said slightly louder.

 

“Okay, okay, what? Just be quiet.” She held a finger up to her lips. “If we get busted, Daddy will hate us again.”

 

“Yeah.” Darrell whispered. “But uhh.. What’s wrong with Raymond?”

 

“What? Nothing’s wrong with him.” Shannon felt nervous at the question. She didn’t want to have to tell Darrell about the situation. He wasn’t the best at keeping secrets. She knew he didn’t mean anything by it, he just had a very big mouth and not so big brains. “Don’t worry about Raymond, he’s fine, let’s just focus on getting that diamond.”

 

“If you say so...” Darrell wasn’t convinced. Raymond had been silent the entire time and while Darrell may not be as smart as Shannon claimed to be, he wasn’t stupid. Something was very wrong with his brother...

 

\--

 

In the east wing, Raymond was swarmed with security guards. Fighting them off was easy for the most part, they didn’t seem to have any extraordinary abilities. The few who did have impressive powers, were easily thwarted by Raymond’s cannon and agility. With a final blast, the remaining guards went flying into the rubble around them. Raymond huffed and retracted his cannon and returned his arm to its normal state. Hearing a loud alarm from inside the museum, Raymond ran inside and caught sight of Shannon and Darrell running towards the exit with the pink star diamond. Alarms were blaring and the two were frantically arguing as to who’s fault it was. He caught up to them easily as they argued and he lifted the both of them under his arms and busted through the front doors and out into the street.

 

“Put me down! I can run on my own, you know!” Shannon yelled, attempting to pry herself out of Raymond’s grasp.

 

“Yeah! We don’t need your help!” Darrell added, struggling to hold onto the diamond while trying to escape.

 

“Would you two shut up?” Raymond snapped at the both of them. “I’m trying to get you out of he--” Raymond was cut off by the sounds of sirens in the distance.

 

The siblings looked up and were struck with horror as the sight of at least five police cars were speeding towards them.

 

“There are probably more on the way, you two need to get out of here!” Raymond sprinted off the property and into an alley. He tossed his siblings over the gate behind them to allow them to escape. He opened his chest cavity and pulled out a shiny pink ball, one that could be easily mistaken for the diamond from a distance. “You two leave already. I’ll distract them.”

 

“If this is some kind of thanks, I don’t need it.” Shannon said, prying the diamond from Darrell’s hands to hold it herself.

 

“A thanks? For you?” Raymond laughed and donned his trademark smirk. “Please. The two of you would be caught in no time without me to distract those cops..” Activating his rocket boosters, Raymond came out of the alley way with a huge burst. He hovered momentarily for the cops to take notice of the faux diamond in his hands before he began his wild goose chase.

 

\--

 

Shannon scoffed at Raymond’s insult and pulled Darrell along with her. The two made a break for it behind the buildings, unseen and unheard by the police. Shannon looked down at the diamond, it was more beautiful than she’d imagined it would be. Stunning and shimmering even in the dim lighting of the back alley lights. Boxman had told them that once a single pink star diamond ring sold for over eighty-three million dollars, there was no telling how much money he could make off of this one. It was the size of a softball, it would secure their future forever if he could sell it.

 

“Shannon, do you think Raymond will be all right?” Darrell huffed as he ran along beside her.

 

“What?” She asked. “OH! I’m sure he’ll be fine! He’s sooooo impressive, right?” She rolled her eyes, leaping across the edge of the building to land on the one across from it. “I don’t,” she grunted, jumping across an air conditioner grate. “know why you’re so worried.”

 

“He was quiet.” Darrell slowed to a stop. “You told me he had a fight with dad.”

 

“Keep moving, idiot!” Shannon snapped, grabbing hold of Darrell’s arm and jerking him along behind her. “And just forget it, he’s fine, Darrell.”

 

“Is this because of that blue lakewood plaza guy?”

 

Shannon was shocked. So shocked in fact, she found herself slowing down and stopping entirely. Darrell looked worried, averting the gaze of his one eye, not wanting to look at his sister.

 

“What are you talking about?” Shannon asked, trying to play dumb.

 

“You made him go talk to dad today... And Raymond got really upset.” Darrell finally looked up at her. “He’s been thinking about that alien a lot lately. Did he get in trouble like you did?”

 

“How do you know what he’s been thinking?” Shannon glared, wondering how much Darrell knew. “I’m the only one he said anything to, I’m sure.”

 

“Oh, well..” Darrell’s eye widened and he nervously looked away. “It’s not like it’s a big d-deal. He mentioned it the day after he went to prom.”

 

“He told you?” Shannon felt offended for some reason. “You of all people. He told you before me?”

 

“Well,” Darrell drew out his words. “It was more like, I caught him talking to himself.”

 

“We’ll finish this later.” Shannon narrowed her eyes, pulling Darrell close to her before running off again. She and her brother ran across roof tops and finally leaped down just at the edge of Lakewood Plaza Turbo. The two crossed the street and disappeared into the Boxmore company building.

 

\--

Raymond seemed to have bitten off a bit more than he could chew. He had managed to wreck three of the police vehicles and blasted another into oblivion. After a long struggle, he was down to two cars left in pursuit, but he could feel himself growing tired and sluggish. His fans were on full blast, desperately trying to cool his insides as he fled. The robot felt his rocket boosters finally give out, sputtering several times and finally causing him to fall. He crashed into the ground and rolled to a stop, the officers slamming on breaks behind him. 

 

He groaned, pushing himself up and turning back to look at the men exiting their cars. They held their guns on him, never wavering in their target. Raymond counted quickly, only four officers, two per car. A grin graced his lips and he threw the ball at them, watching in amusement as the men scrambled to catch it before the ball hit the ground and bounced. Despite the roar of the rain falling, you could hear a pin drop as the ball bounced three times and finally rolled to a stop at the foot of one of the officers. They’d fallen for his rouse in the most humiliating fashion.

 

“What’s wrong, hmm?” Raymond laughed, standing to his feet. “Not what you were expecting?” He grinned, holding his arm out and readying his cannon. “Too bad, really. I was so enjoying playing with you!”

 

The moment Raymond fired his energy blast, a gunshot rang out from the opposing side. A sharp burning pain seared in his right arm. The burning was followed by a violent jolt of electricity that rang through his entire system before causing him to fall backwards. Instinctively he reached for his arm, covering his bullet wound. He groaned and looked at the exposed wires before gripping tightly to keep the rain from his damaged arm.

 

Raymond’s snippy comments were cut short, he had to get out of here. It was far too dangerous for him to play in the rain now. He took the chance the stunned officers gave him and fled the scene. He ran in and out of awnings and found himself running through an apartment complex. Raymond growled as he looked around, he had no idea where he was. He began to scan the surrounding area and finally came across a bio-signature he recognized. Friend or foe, whoever they were would have to do for the moment. He sprinted through the complex and leaped up onto one of the balconies and then across several more before landing at his destination.

 

Slouching over, Raymond huffed and pulled the balcony doors open and attempted to walk into the unsuspecting hero’s apartment.

 

“Are you kidding!?” Radicles gasped in shock, jumping up from his place on the couch. “What are you doing here!? Get lost!” He ran over and jerked the doors closed. “Whatever yer tryin’a start, I don’t want none of it!” Rad yelled, it was all he could do to keep the doors closed with the large robot forcing them open from the other side.

 

“Let me inside!” Raymond jerked the doors back open, yelling as he felt his arm rip further due to the stress. He attempted to force himself past Radicles but was stopped dead in his tracks. The alien grabbed hold of his left arm and chest, pushing Raymond back with all his might.

 

“Step off!” Rad shoved the robot with all his strength, sending him stumbling backwards and nearly over the balcony railing. Pulling the double doors together, Radicles locked the latch and drew the curtains to block out the view of the robot on his balcony. Not that a plane of glass and a sheet of fabric stood any sort of chance against Raymond. The best he could hope for was that the villain would be discouraged and leave him be.

 

Raymond winced, doing his best to shelter his exposed wires from the downpour of rain. He felt embarrassed, why did he expect anything else from the alien. They were enemies after all, no matter what thoughts had swirled in his mind for the past few days. Looking around, Raymond took notice of the awning over the balcony. It wasn’t much, a mere five inches, but it was five inches in which the rain didn’t fall. He stepped forward and leaned against the wall, hoping he could keep his arm out of the rain until it let up.

 

Radicles sat on his couch, staring at the shadowy figure outside his doors. How long did Raymond intend to stand out there? He glanced at the clock. It had been round about midnight when Raymond had suddenly appeared... It was now twelve fifteen. Rad sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. He couldn’t be serious about wanting in. What would be the point? Surly Raymond was trying to start trouble, as per usual. Leaning back against the couch, Radicles watched the figure in silence, waiting for the robot to move.

 

Twelve thirty-five

 

Radicles found that he was unable to do anything with Raymond outside. He knew it would take a while for the robot to leave, but this was ridiculous. Maybe Raymond hadn’t been lying... What if he couldn’t leave? The blue alien stood and closed the distance between himself and the balcony doors, flinging the curtains back and swinging open the doors.

 

“What do you want, dude?” Radicles demanded. “You’ve been out here for like thirty minutes, it’s pissing me off!”

 

“I need shelter.” Raymond grimaced at the taste of the words on his tongue. “I’m.. I’m injured.” He released his right arm, showing Radicles the open gash of metal and wires springing out of his upper arm. “It is an embarrassment for me to turn to my enemy for help. But I cannot travel in this rain.. I could--”

 

“Short circuit..” Radicles finished his statement, staring heavily at the wound. “I um.. I can’t fix you.” He continued, looking Raymond in the eyes. “Even if I knew how, I don’t have anything to work with here.”

 

“I don’t expect you to fix me.” Raymond responded, staring out past the balcony at the pouring rain. “I just need a place to stay until the rain stops...” He gripped his upper arm once again, the exposed circuits and wiring burned as if on fire. Raymond noticed how tired the hero seemed, his eyes looked red and puffy... Had he been crying?

 

“I guess.” Radicles mumbled.

 

“I don’t like the idea of asking you for help.” Raymond huffed. “It’s disgraceful that I should have to receive aid of any sort from some muscled up hero such as yourself.”

 

“Tch! Dude, do you want me to change my mind?” Rad glared, stepping back from the doorway. “Just get in here before one’a my neighbors sees you.”

 

The tall robot walked past him and into his living room. Radicles couldn’t help but notice how miserable he looked. Not to mention pathetic. He almost enjoyed seeing Raymond in such a state. The robot was haughty, arrogant, and so full of himself, it was a wonder he had room for any machinery in that expertly cut body. But something about seeing Raymond this way made him sad, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on why.

 

“You uh.. You want a towel?”

 

“A towel?” Raymond questioned.

 

“Yeah, a towel.” Radicles rolled his eyes. “You know, those thick rectangles of fabric that you use after you take a bat--wait..” Radicles paused, would a robot even need to bathe? Had Raymond ever taken a bath? He huffed. “Never mind. I’ll be right back, just. I dunno, just don’t move. Or touch anything.”

 

Raymond stood in silence, waiting for his enemy to return. He looked around the room, it was quaint but nice. Radicles didn’t have nearly as many photographs of friends as Raymond would have expected. Weren’t those Lakewood Plaza losers all about friendship? It seemed odd for the room to be so barren. He had always imagined they would have photos of friends and such plastered all around their living spaces. Perhaps having friends wasn’t quite as grossly obsessive as he had been lead to believe. 

 

Radicles had, what Raymond assumed, to be a couple of family photos hanging on the wall above his couch. As for the rest of the room, it seemed the alien was far more interested in posters of bands, movies, and other heroes. Though after a moment, he took notice of a small photo sitting on the side table at Radicles’ couch. Raymond walked over and picked up the photograph with his good hand. It was of Radicles and a sort of strawberry woman. If Raymond was correct, this was from The Prom. The woman was quite beautiful, Radicles looked like a dog who had finally gotten the attention of his owner.

 

“That’s Drupe.” Radicles’ sudden voice caused Raymond to jump slightly. “She an’ her friends are so cool. I’d been tryin’a get in their crowd for a while.” He grinned. “I guess I should thank you for trying to ruin my prom. She was super into that dance battle.”

 

“If anything, I saved your prom.”

 

The coy words felt like a swift slap, but Radicles knew they were true, regardless of his willingness to admit it.

 

“Well, either way, it ended up being a fun night.” He paused. “I mean, maybe not for you. But for us, it was good.” He exchanged the towel for the photograph, placing it face down on his side table. “You get dried off and we’ll talk, I guess.”

 

Raymond didn’t say anything in response, he wasn’t an expert on organic relationships, but he could put two and two together. He almost wanted to ask, but instead, he simply set to drying himself as best he could. After rubbing down his right arm, he became painfully aware that he could no longer move it at will... He cursed himself for being so forceful with the door, he must have severed something inside. He tried several more times to move his arm, but it simply hung beside him, broken and useless. The robot sighed and set to drying the rest of his body, though he found himself running into more issues concerning his area of reach.

 

Radicles watched Raymond attempt to dry himself with only one arm. He hadn’t thought the injury would be all that serious, just dangerous in the rain. But Raymond was unable to move it at all. After several minutes of watching Raymond attempt to dry himself, Radicles rolled his eyes and stood next to him.

 

“Here, let me help.” The alien said with a soft smile. He noticed the concern in Raymond’s eyes as he stepped closer. “Don’t worry, I’ll be gentle.” Radicles laughed, taking the towel from Raymond’s hand.

 

Radicles rubbed the soft fabric over Raymond’s body, making sure to press into the curves and creases to soak up as much water as possible. They were both silent for the majority of the act, Radicles only getting the urge to finally speak as he found himself drying Raymond’s neck.

 

“Uhh.. Could you sit down?” Radicles resisted the urge to stand on his tip toes. “I can’t quite reach.”

 

Raymond looked away and nodded, sitting on the couch before him. He felt the warm tingling sensation returning as Radicles carefully caressed his neck and up into his hair. The towel was soft against his metallic skin, it was comforting in a way. Raymond lowered his head, looking between Radicles’ boots as he allowed his hair to be tussled about. It felt so warm and inviting, it was a strange feeling, but he enjoyed it. The feeling however, was interrupted suddenly by a jolt of nervousness as the alien moved the towel to his face.

 

“Your skin.. It’s kinda soft.” Radicles looked surprised. “I never noticed while fighting...”

 

“It’s.. It’s a synthetic skin that Boxman made.” Raymond felt that perhaps he shouldn’t be speaking about his design, but he did so anyway. “It’s not nearly as soft as organic, and it isn’t that pliable, but it works well enough.” He locked eyes with the alien standing over him, hardly taking notice to the towel which dropped to the floor between them.

 

“That’s pretty cool, actually.” Radicles raised a brow, running his fingers along Raymond’s nose and jaw. “N-Not that I’m complimenting Buttman or anything.” He added, pulling away from Raymond entirely.

 

Raymond almost made a noise of displeasure when the other stepped aside, but he forced the sound back. Raymond instead, opted to make a snide comment in its place.

 

“I can’t say I’m surprised. I am a work of art, you know.”

 

“Yeah, sure” Radicles responded, rolling his eyes in amusement as he grabbed a scarf from his coat rack. “Listen, your arm is a mess. I’m gonna make a sling so it’s not just, you know, hanging around.”

 

Raymond didn’t seem to notice the poor excuse of a joke, he simply nodded in response and allowed Radicles to come close once again. Rad knelt down onto his knees and looped the scarf around behind Raymond. Using his good arm, Raymond held his broken one in place as Radicles wrapped the scarf around twice to make a loose sling for him. Radicles tied the scarf into a knot over his shoulders and Raymond felt himself heating up again. The other man was so close to him now, he could feel soft puffs of breath over his skin. Raymond closed his eyes, enjoying the feeling all too much. He felt warm and tender, those subtle tingles pulsing through his brain and down his arms and spine. As if possessed by some foreign force, Raymond moved forward and pressed his lips against Radicles’.

 

Radicles’ eyes widened as Raymond closed the distance between their lips. His arms were still wrapped around Raymond’s shoulders, their chests ever so close together. He felt Raymond’s hand gently grip his upper arm, urging him closer. Radicles leaned in with ease, moving his mouth to kiss Raymond again. His hands were shaking as he lifted one hand to run his fingers into Raymond’s hair, the synthetic strands feeling like silk against his skin. Raymond let out a small moan as Radicles pushed his tongue into the robot’s mouth. Radicles couldn’t believe how soft and wet his mouth was, it felt completely organic. He wondered for a moment how good it would feel... Raymond was pushed back, the spikes of his shoulders tearing into the sofa covering. The robot pulled his mouth away, letting out a soft pant, a shaky smile on his lips.

 

“A-am I doing it right?”

 

The statement made Radicles stop, he looked Raymond in the eyes and suddenly felt sick. Was Raymond even fully aware of what was happening? Radicles thought of Drupe and how she’d stormed out earlier. He should stop, this couldn’t happen this way, this tension he felt. He was taking advantage of Raymond. Radicles pulled away from Raymond, looking somewhat ashamed of himself.

 

“Man.. W-we need to stop.” Radicles looked away from Raymond. He couldn’t stand how needy he looked. “I can’t do this.”

 

“Did I do something wrong?” Raymond looked worried. “I can do--”

 

“You didn’t do anything wrong.” Radicles stood to his feet. “I shouldn’t have kissed you back, dude.” He felt horrible. “I’m jus’, I’m rebounding, or somethin’.”

 

Raymond wasn’t sure what “rebounding” meant, but he assumed it couldn’t be good. His chest felt heavy but he wasn’t sure why, it was an empty feeling, like his insides had been scooped out. He was being rejected. Raymond knew he should have expected as much, Radicles was a hero. He was good and kind and had friends. He could feel all these things that Raymond himself wasn’t allowed. So how could he be expected to spare any of those thoughts for a villain like him? 

 

”The rain has stopped.” Raymond muttered quietly, looking past Radicles and out through the balcony doors.

 

“Oh um.. Good.” Radicles rubbed the back of his neck. “You can get home safe now, right?” He asked, reluctantly looking up at the robot. God, Raymond looked so dejected. “You’ll be okay?”

 

”Yes, of course.” Raymond tried to front his usual confidant persona. “That should be more than obvious~” He forced a smirk and walked towards the balcony. “Surly my siblings are floundering about without me, I really must be going.” Raymond opened the balcony doors and hopped up onto the railing, searching for the correct direction of Boxmore.

 

”Raymond.” Radicles spoke up. “I’m sorry...”

 

The robot heard the alien but didn’t look back or acknowledge him. God how he wanted to, but he couldn’t allow himself to look weak in front of the organic, not again, not now. Settling on a direction, Raymond leaped down from the balcony railing and set off to his home, where he could safely tuck himself away in his room to think about all that had transpired.

 

Raymond realized now, why Shannon had been so bitter, this was miserable.


End file.
